A balance in which the display includes not only the measured value, but also words such as "print" and "tare" is shown in O.S. No. 25 36 045 of the Federal Republic of Germany. The display illustrated therein also includes a number of contact switches for operator control of the balance. However, in any one area of the display only one word, legend, or symbol can be displayed. Enough areas must thus be provided to accommodate all displays required for different operating modes or computations. This is a distinct disadvantage for modern balances which often carry out functions in addition to furnishing the actual measured weight. For example, balances used in stores may also display the price of the units being weighed. In other cases, it may be required to compute the number of units being weighed from the total weight or to furnish the weight in different units. Selectable operating modes of a particular scale may also include such things as calibration, different weight ranges, etc. To accommodate many of these in one display would lead to an excessively large display in the conventional unit illustrated in the above-identified publication. Further, the known display can only be in one language. If a balance were to be manufactured for use in many countries, individual displays would have to be manufactured for each country.